SolarFi Cares

Antonio Dixon has been involved with researching, developing and selling solar energy solutions and products in Africa for six years, and has been resident in five African countries. In the process, he has worked with Mobile Network Operators, NGO’s, Government, and village chiefs in rural Africa. His research confirmed that rural Africans lack internet and electrical power, which are both essential infrastructures for mobile money transactions. An expert in the management of surgical lasers, he is a serial entrepreneur in the fields of dental laboratories, medical, entertainment, and telecommunications. Dixon has over 15 years of sales, branding, and marketing experience working with the world’s leading medical device companies in the United States and Europe, including Biolase and Dentsply Sirona. Mr. Dixon founded SunPowerd, a renewable energy company focused on lighting Africa. Mr. Dixon serves as an advisor for Private Equity firms, Hedge funds, Presidential candidates, and startups. 

All countries are facing one major dilemma: whether to sacrifice economic well-being to protect as many people from the virus as possible, or to forego public health measures to save the country’s economic state. SolarFi Cares tackles both the current response to COVID-19, as well as creating a long-term plan for economic sustainability post-pandemic. Our solar-powered clinics will serve as a center for primary diagnostic and preventive care in rural areas, equipped with COVID-19 test kits, antibody testing, basic medicines, vaccinations against other preventable diseases, and delivery of health supplies, while also acting as a source of internet access for communities where it isn’t currently available. Along with the immediate medical response, the clinics will also promote long-term economic sustainability by creating local employment opportunities in healthcare and construction, as well as providing communities with educational resources through internet access all while incurring low maintenance costs for its solar-powered energy.

Nigeria’s COVID-19 caseload has exceeded 15,000 with over 400 deaths. While the whole world is struggling to contain the virus, Nigeria’s overcrowded, substandard housing makes the requirement for physical distancing and having adequate sanitation virtually impossible. This is more so in the absence of an effective vaccine, poor access and availability of basic services, inadequate food, and nutrition security and non-provision of social safety nets for these vulnerable families. As more nurses and doctors get infected, fewer hospitals are accepting patients. Resulting challenges of the month-long lockdown include stalled essential healthcare and social services, an increased chance of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks such as polio or measles, misinformation causing harm to mental and physical health, and economic decline as job opportunities are lost. With schools closed, students are falling further behind developed countries which is widening the education gap. 

SolarFi Cares tackles both the current response to COVID-19, as well as creating a long-term plan for economic sustainability post-pandemic. Our solar-powered clinics will serve as a center for primary diagnostic and preventive care in rural areas, equipped with COVID-19 test kits, antibody testing, basic medicines, vaccinations against other preventable diseases, and delivery of health supplies, while also acting as a source of internet access for communities where it isn’t currently available. Using solar energy to generate power allows the clinics to be completely off-grid, bringing healthcare to the most remote communities. Electricity is necessary to power numerous essential components of basic primary healthcare centers, including vaccine fridges and lab equipment. Our technology also includes Internet connectivity, which is accessed through TV whitespace. This uses old TV frequencies and rebroadcasts for the Internet, and we will be able to use repeaters to transmit connectivity through to households. Along with the immediate medical response, the clinics will also promote long-term economic sustainability by creating local employment opportunities in healthcare and construction, as well as providing communities with educational resources through internet access all while incurring low maintenance costs for its solar-powered energy.

Our solution is aimed towards underserved communities in Nigeria, especially in the most affected regions surrounding Lagos, Abuja, and Niger Delta. These are populations that live in overcrowded, substandard housing, making physical distancing during the COVID-19 crisis impossible. Many rural residents do not access preventive health care due to low awareness, and high indirect costs (of transportation, the opportunity cost of working). The densities of nurses, doctors, and midwives in these areas are too low to effectively deliver essential healthcare services (around 1.95 per 1,000 people), exacerbating the pandemic. Our solution will directly improve the healthcare situation for these communities by providing a sustainable testing and treatment center. Moreover, it will alleviate some of the other consequences of the lockdown such as providing Internet access for education and telemedicine, as well as creating job opportunities in construction and healthcare. We are partnering with R&S Manor Medicare Group Ltd., who has done extensive work improving healthcare in Nigeria and has connections with several important people in multiple industries. By working closely with them to understand our target population and leveraging these connections, we will be able to effectively implement our solution. 

The COVID-19 response between developed and developing countries looks very different. Many communities in the latter cannot afford to socially distance and work from home, or don’t have the means to do so. They also lack the healthcare capacity to test and treat patients, resulting in devastating effects. They will get sick and be unable to work, or unknowingly spread the virus within their community. Our clinics will serve these communities in Nigeria, providing them with the infrastructure and technology needed to overcome the pandemic and save as many lives as possible while protecting the economy.

Given my experience working in the medical device industry, I had strategic relationships with the largest healthcare supplier in the USA (Henry Schein). I met with their team and learned that through Henry Schein Cares they had meaningful programs in Africa. I learned that they had challenges of capacity building (training dental therapist), water, and haven’t used telemedicine due to lack of power, and internet connectivity. We started brainstorming how we can solve these problems.  I reached out to doctor’s in and outside of the Diaspora and learned that they didn’t like the fact that once they went to a developing country to perform work, their impact stopped. They could still have an impact from their office by remotely training people, and working on preventative healthcare.Leveraging my experience in telecom, solar, and health, I thought we could have a huge impact.

The timing couldn’t be more perfect. I have the opportunity to make a difference given my background working in healthcare/medical devices, solar, and telecommunications. Having this unique blend of experience provides tremendous exposure. I have had several conversations with the former CEO of UN-Energy and a Chief of Health at UNICEF on how our solutions can have a big impact. I come from a family of nurses which gives me a unique perspective on healthcare. My people are struggling, and I feel that it is my civic duty to help my fellow brothers and sisters in Africa. 

I have been involved with researching, developing and selling solar energy solutions and products in Africa for five years, and have been resident in five African countries. In the process, I’ve worked with NGO’s, Government, and village chiefs in rural Africa. I was recently recognized as a Top 100 Startup Changemaker from Harvard and MIT and recognized by the UN as a Young Pioneer, the winner of the Frost & Sullivan Emerging Market Innovation Award. My experience and connections made from working in medical device sales has prepared me to expand SolarFi’s reach to healthcare and work with the appropriate partners to ensure successful execution of the project. I advised the former CEO of UN-Energy, the former Minister of Trade & Industry in Ghana, and have experience working with the largest supplier of medical/dental equipment in the world. As a company, our team has experience on the ground in rural areas in Africa and the US. I’ve been training with the J-Pal poverty reduction lab at MIT, and I’ve learned so much from Nobel Laureates, Professor Ester Duflo, and Banerjee who were all recognized for their work to alleviate global poverty.

When you're doing business in Africa, you have to overcome adversity every single day.  Logistics is a massive one. Getting money in and out of the country, moving around merchandise, employees, and dealing with corruption at the border are just some of the issues you face. It’s difficult to pick an example for this application. One of them was that our team was at Farmer’s Day in Ghana educating farmers on solar and agriculture solutions. We had a huge order from the President of the country. We were 7 hours up north. The President needed our solar products immediately, and I had to arrange for the police to show up to the warehouse with the Chief of Staff’s right-hand person. I then had to call our bank to meet them, collect the cash, and put it in our bank account all while dealing with farmers, meeting with the President and his brothers while they were up north at farmers day. What I learned is that everyday is an audible in Africa, and you have to stay persistent, and patient. Building relationships is vital to make anything work. 

I served as the chief of staff of a political party. I had to deal with the international community, mobilize resources, coordinate the communications team, campaign team, and work with the EU on having a safe election. At Northern Rivers, where I served on the board, we had a $25mm budget, but it was difficult to convey our impact. I had previously owned an events company. We needed to raise money and awareness. I proposed to host night clubs to allow me to throw a party called ‘Pay it Forward Fridays’ where they would give the door entrance fee to my non-profit. We generated over $25,000, and we could connect with the community in a non-threatening way. We attracted more volunteers and board members. We ended up getting Lia cars to donate an electric vehicle for us to raffle off.

We are taking a unique approach to fighting different aspects of the pandemic’s resulting challenges, with solar energy being the thread that connects them all. None of our competitors have the partners and resources available to implement this solution. There are several existing companies that offer telemedicine such as Savemom and Medici, but their technologies first require power and Internet access that we will be able to provide. Lumos Nigeria is installing single solar panels to power testing equipment in rural Nigeria health centers. However, our innovative solar system design is able to generate much more power with adjustable angles and prevents the panels from the huge problem of theft that Lumos does not address. Our solution is innovative in that it uses solar energy to allow for more in-person care as well as Internet access for families at home, both of which will be key factors in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Solar power is becoming more affordable, and regions endowed with renewable energy sources like solar are placed to leverage a decentralized, off-grid approach to energy access. Off-grid mobile clinics are increasingly playing an important role in maximizing reach to remote communities while lowering cost barriers of healthcare access. According to a WHO study covering over 4,000 clinics and hospitals, about one in four health facilities in 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa had no access to electricity in 2013, and most facilities with access had an unreliable supply. Diesel generators have traditionally powered off-grid facilities and also served as back-up power sources in grid-connected health facilities. But these struggle with both high fuel costs and unreliable fuel delivery. Using solar energy to power our clinics overcomes this issue. By providing communities access to the Internet, we will be bringing connectivity between individuals and the world at a time when they need it the most. The immediate impacts of our project include improving testing capabilities and medical supply delivery, families accessing telemedicine support on tablets for physical and mental health while social distancing, sustained education through Internet access for children and adolescents at home, and improved social behavioral practices for COVID-19 in Internet-enabled households in the targeted communities. In the long term, an important effect will be economic sustainability through increased employment opportunities in solar panel installation and maintenance, while panels themselves incur low costs. Other impacts include educated younger generations that are capable of contributing to the country’s development as well as empowered healthcare worker communities that are experienced and prepared for future epidemics. Providing access to the Internet closes the digital divide in developing communities- an important factor for promoting sustainable development.

We expect each clinic to serve at least 30,000 people in Nigerian communities. This is both through providing healthcare services at the clinic and Internet connectivity in households. In one year, we hope to implement at least 10 clinics across Nigeria, serving around 300,000 people. In five years the goal is to scale across borders with the project’s proven success, reaching over 1 million people in rural areas. 

Our goal for the next year is to implement solar-powered clinics with medical equipment and supplies, hire healthcare workers, and educate the public about public health measures in rural areas in Nigeria. At the same time, we will also set up Internet connectivity using TV whitespace and repeaters and deliver tablets to households in these communities to encourage development while social distancing. In the next five years with sufficient resources we will scale in different areas:

Geographic – expansion in the areas of coverage to other LGAs and across states, this will not be our last pandemic. We will scale the virology lab for testing for HIV, Malaria, and TB, engaging governments to have the clinic be mobile and sign a 3-year contract to provide these services to IDP’s and rural constituents 

Financial – with the added foot traffic we will sell more services through partnerships with FlourMill, and Coca-cola as anchor tenants. USAID and DFID may also provide additional funding and sponsorship as we scale. 

Administrative/political – advocate and mobilize governments and all partners in the social sector to adopt and use the approach or model nationally. We have a strong advisory team connected to the government, REF, Power Africa, and UN agencies that we will leverage to scale. 

Disaster relief agencies  - we will secure contracts with disaster relief agencies i.e. NEMA (Nigeria Emergency Management Agency, and FEMA.  The vision is to have several of these clinics in stock ready for the next disaster.

Our main limitation at the moment is financial. Insufficient funds would be a barrier to completing the construction of the clinic and implementing Internet connectivity due to low technical and human resources. On the other side, if we are successful in obtaining several grants and other funds, we can scale up the project and implement clinics in multiple areas, impacting more lives and tackling the spread of the virus. Another important note is that since the COVID-19 situation is so fluid, it is possible that additional lockdown and travel restrictions will make construction difficult. However, we are prepared to adapt to the situation in any way we need to as we have done so since March. 

To obtain the necessary monetary resources, we are applying to 5-7 funding competitions and grants every week. We have already secured equipment donation partnerships to reduce our costs, and have also made it to the second round for a few funding competitions which showcases our potential. To address the COVID-19 travel restrictions, we are very well connected with partners in Nigeria who will be able to coordinate project implementation in case we can’t be on-site.

The University of Massachusetts; Engineering services

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Engineering services

Apex Solar, Solar panels

Thompson Reuters Foundation, Legal

Henry Schein (Largest Medical Supplier), medical supplies

Kuramo Capital, office space

CTO, serv, Engineering, IoT services

Microsoft, Microsoft Insider's Lab, Training, IoT/AI Lab, Capacity building

Harvard Center for African Studies, Human Capital

The State University of New York, Center for International Development, Human Capital

George Martin Electric, Electrician Services

We hope to raise $500,000 in the form of grants to fund our project implementation. We are in the process of applying for multiple different grants and innovation competitions, and have already made it through to the second round for several. We hope to raise sufficient funds by the middle of August to keep us on track with our planned dates for milestones and deliverables.

Elevate’s goals align with ours because we want to focus on bringing technology-driven clean energy and healthcare infrastructure to communities that are greatly suffering due to the pandemic, and empower them to create sustainable development. We believe that being selected to receive the Elevate Prize will give us the guidance we need to successfully launch and scale our project by refining our business model, marketing campaign, and giving us new technological insights that could boost our project. The Elevate community has the talent and resources we need to accelerate our impact, and having that network of like-minded entrepreneurs and changemakers will 

We are still working on refining our business model, and partnering with experts could help give us insights on what kinds of approaches we can take. For our solution's technology, we are always looking for new partners who could help advance our concept or provide specific technologies that could allow our solution to have an even greater impact. We know that any good business needs a strong marketing campaign, and believe that partners with expertise in this area could help us reach a broader audience and give us the exposure we need to improve and implement our concept.

The MIT D-LAB would be a great resource for us, since they have collaborated on numerous projects that have helped build capacity in poverty-stricken communities around the world. Their expertise would help us identify how we can engage local innovators and engineers to maintain the sustainability and long-term impact of our project. Additionally, Solve member Johnson & Johnson is a global leader in healthcare and their guidance on vaccine promotion and medical devices would be greatly beneficial to our project development. Other organizations that we are interested in partnering with include:

• The Rockefeller Foundation

• The World Bank

• The Gates Foundation

• Amazon

All of these organizations have a mission to reduce poverty. We would tap into their connections for advice, funding sources, contacts with other foundation executives, governmental representatives in developing African countries in which we do not yet have these contacts.